


In Vitro

by citrinesunset



Category: Annihilation (2018 Garland)
Genre: Belly Kink, Body Horror, F/F, Magical Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-24
Updated: 2019-10-24
Packaged: 2021-01-02 05:09:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21156140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/citrinesunset/pseuds/citrinesunset
Summary: Something is growing inside Lena. Ventress stays by her side to see her through it.





	In Vitro

**Author's Note:**

  * For [track_04](https://archiveofourown.org/users/track_04/gifts).

There was something growing inside her, and Lena knew she should be afraid. She remembered the man in the video, the one whose insides writhed like snakes, and she wondered what was inside her. If it would kill her. If she was foolish for letting it grow.

Sometimes, she thought about asking Ventress how long she thought they'd been in the Shimmer. Either it had been a long time, or the pregnancy (was it accurate to call it that? Yes, she decided it was) was progressing quickly. Either option seemed equally plausible, and equally unsettling. She didn't know what was harder to comprehend—the thought of time being stolen from her or the knowledge that the thing inside her wasn't human. That her knowledge about human reproduction was meaningless. Every morning, her belly seemed larger. The thing inside her moved more with each day, though it was still painless. If it was a parasite, it was a considerate one.

She tried to remember how it happened. Sometimes she thought she remembered something alien slithering between her legs one night when her body and mind were heavy with sleep. Sometimes she thought she was imaging that, and that the fetus inside her had been created solely by her own body, enabled by the changes the Shimmer made to her genetic structure.

The house she'd set up camp in had been abandoned in haste, and Lena took some pleasure in imagining that the inhabitants had gotten out safely. The refrigerator was worthless as the power had gone out ages ago, but there was still food in the cupboards, some of it unopened and nonperishable. There was no way to know if it was safe to eat, but safety was no longer a concern. What remained of their own rations could be contaminated now. Lena no longer believed it was possible to enter the Shimmer without being changed by it. The best one could hope for was to be transformed rather than consumed.

She used to take walks around the small village, partly out of curiosity and partly to maintain the pretense that this was still a scientific mission and that she would soon be sharing her observations. For such an eerily quiet place, it was teeming with life. She'd found flowers with teeth. Rabbits with forked tongues. Vines that bled. 

Now, she tried to save her energy. And she never ventured out at night, though she lay awake and listened to the distant animal sounds, afraid that if she fell asleep, the nocturnal beasts that roamed the woods would pay them a visit.

That night, she had just dozed off when the snap of a branch outside the window woke her. She was immediately alert, and held her breath as she listened. There was nothing more, and it had been a small sound. Maybe a raccoon or a rat. Still, she was awake now. She pushed herself up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She still slept with her boots on in case they had to move quickly, even though she couldn't do much of anything quickly anymore.

She stepped out into the hall and walked toward the faint light of Ventress' lantern in the dining room. Ventress was sitting at the table, making notes in her journal. She looked up when the floorboards creaked under Lena's feet.

Lena had asked her once why she thought she was less affected by whatever the Shimmer did to time. The only explanation Ventress could offer was that she didn't sleep. Lena didn't know how true that was, but she hadn't seen Ventress sleep once since they set up camp here.

It still surprised her that Ventress stayed with her. Was it kindness or curiosity? Lena no longer saw much value in interrogating her motivations. She was thankful for it regardless, in spite of her pride.

"Are you okay?" Ventress asked her.

"I'm fine." If anything, she felt healthier than ever, which should have been alarming in its own right. "I thought I heard a noise outside."

"You should try to rest."

"I can rest tomorrow." It was easier to sleep during the day. It felt safer.

Lena pulled out a chair and took a seat by Ventress. Lena's t-shirt stretched over her belly, and she caught Ventress looking at it.

They'd talked, a little, about their options. Ventress thought that surgery was too risky out here unless it was necessary, and somehow they'd decided that it wasn't necessary yet. That as long as Lena seemed healthy, it was better to let things take their course. Lena wondered if she would have agreed weeks ago. More than once, it occurred to her that the thing inside her might be affecting her mind.

"I feel like I should be frightened, but I'm not," Lena said.

"That's good."

"Is it?"

"Would it help? Would it make any difference? If I thought you couldn't handle what we'd fine here, I never would have let you come on this mission."

She wanted to say it was never Ventress' call, but of course, it was. It was only thanks to Ventress that she wasn't still sitting in a cell on a secret base, waiting for the military to decide if they could trust her with what she knew.

"That's bullshit. You had no idea what we'd find here."

"Neither did you," Ventress said with a small smile. "But you still volunteered."

Did that ease Ventress' conscience? Or did she see a kindred spirit in Lena? 

She was glad not to be alone, in any case.

Ventress looked at her like an artist studying a subject. "You came here looking for a fight. But you're a biologist. Part of you has to be curious."

Lena almost wanted to dispute that. She wanted to say that there was no beauty in the things she'd found here. But there was. And with each passing day, the desire to see the thing that grew inside her was stronger. If anything scared her, it was that. Was she slipping into the Shimmer's grasp? Was she losing sight of her objectives?

The thing inside her moved, and Lena gasped. Ventress slid off her chair and crouched by her side. She lifted the stretched hem of Lena's shirt and laid a cold hand on her belly.

"You're okay. You're going to be fine."

Lena knew better than to believe her promises, but she wouldn't reject her. Ventress ran her hand in a soft circle over the taut skin. Lena closed her eyes, and couldn't tell if she imagined it when she felt Ventress place a soft kiss on her belly.

"Would you feel better if I took a look?" Ventress asked.

"If you think it's a good idea."

Ventress accompanied her back to the bedroom. There was no shame anymore in taking off her pants and lying on the bed with her legs spread. Ventress was a doctor, after all, even if this wasn't her specialty. Ventress knelt between Lena's legs and set her electric lantern on the bed. First, she gently ran her fingers over Lena's pregnant belly. Next, she slipped a hand between her legs and spread her open. Lena held her breath as Ventress slipped a finger inside her.

The way Ventress touched her was somewhere between clinical and intimate. When her thumb brushed across Lena's clit, it might have been accidental. She slipped a second finger inside her and took her time, stroking her in a way that felt more like a massage than an examination. Lena closed her eyes and bit her lip.

If Ventress knew how this affected her, she didn't let on. How could she not? She knew her better than anyone, now. But Ventress ignored the way Lena's breath quickened, and the way she shuddered in pleasure. Lena could hardly admit it to herself.

Afterward, Lena re-dressed and Ventress lay beside her on the bed. Lena closed her eyes and drifted off, knowing that Ventress would lie awake and alert beside her.


End file.
